Everyone feels the need to stretch their neck every once in a while, but in rare cases it can cause more than a satisfying pop. A 28-year-old Oklahoma man ended up in the hospital after tearing his vertebral artery by stretching his neck to alleviate neck soreness.

Josh Hader was working from his home in Guthrie, Oklahoma when he felt a familiar soreness in his neck and tried to alleviate as he had done many times before, by stretching his neck a bit. Only this time, as he used his hand to apply a bit more pressure, he heard a loud pop and instantly knew something was wrong. His left side went numb almost immediately, so he quickly checked to see if his face was drooping, one of the most common signs of a stroke. His face looked fine though, so he assumed he must have just pinched a nerve and went to get some ice packs. That’s when he noticed he couldn’t walk straight.

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Natalie Kuniciki, a 23-year-old paramedic from London, UK, was left partially paralyzed after her vertebral artery burst when she involuntarily cracked her neck, causing a blood clot to trigger a stroke in her brain.

We all crack our joints every once in a while, whether accidentally or on purpose, but apart from that satisfying “pop” sound, nothing really happens. However, in Natalie Kuniciki case, a simple and seemingly harmless thing like moving her head caused a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. The 23-year-old paramedic was watching a movie at her home in West Hampstead after a night out when she involuntarily stretched her neck. Only this time, the routine maneuver caused a loud “crack” sound in her neck. Natalie didn’t really feel any pain so she ignored it and went to bed, only to wake up 15 minutes later unable to move her left leg. When she tried getting up to go to the toilet, she collapsed, so the frightened young woman called an ambulance.

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